Junior righthander Chris Overman was named a preseason All-American on Wednesday by the NCBWAA.

Dec. 14, 2011

RALEIGH, N.C. — Junior righthander Chris Overman emerged as a dominant force out of the bullpen for NC State in 2011. On Wednesday, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America named Overman a 2012 third-team preseason All-American.

“That’s awesome,” Overman said by telephone from his home in Charlotte, N.C. “I don’t even know what to say. It’s a tremendous honor and I’m humbled by it. I just need to keep working hard and keep improving.”

Overman went 6-3 with seven saves and a 2.30 ERA in 30 appearances as a sophomore in 2011, and was actually much better than his stats, which were skewed by two outings. He allowed three earned runs in 2 1/3 innings on Feb. 19 vs. Elon, and four earned runs in 1 2/3 innings on April 29 vs. Maryland. He was 6-2 with seven saves and a 1.20 ERA in his other 28 appearances.

Overman held opposing hitters to a .218 batting average in 2011, including a .205 average (31-for-151) in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. He did not allow an earned run in his last eight appearances of the season, covering 12 2/3 innings, and did not allow a walk in his last 14 2/3 innings, a stretch of 66 consecutive batters faced without allowing a walk.

Overman continued his incredible 2011 season by dominating the Cape Cod League for the champion Harwich Mariners, working 33 innings without allowing an earned run. He went 2-0 for the M’s with a save and a 0.00 ERA in a team-high 19 appearances during the Cape League’s regular season. He allowed 11 hits and struck out 25 in 28 1/3 innings. He made four appearances, all scoreless, in the Cape Cod League playoffs and recorded the save in each of Harwich’s three postseason series-clinching victories. He also pitched a perfect 1-2-3 sixth inning for the East Division squad in the Cape Cod League All-Star game at Fenway Park in Boston.

Counting the end of the 2011 college season and the Cape Cod League season during the summer, Overman will enter 2012 having worked 45 2/3 consecutuve innings without allowing an earned run.

“Chris Overman was a huge part of our success last year, and he’s very deserving of preseason All-America honors,” Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent said. “I’m ecstatic for him. This is a great reward for the hours of hard work he’s put in to make himself a great pitcher.”